While Faris Shafi’s music may be controversial for some, he has been breaking the barriers surrounding what Pakistani music artists can do. His lyrics are powerful and truthful in their own way despite being profane at times. However, that’s the way things are in the world, and we believe Faris Shafi isn’t afraid to call it like it is, and for that, we can appreciate him.
Faris had a slow entry into the entertainment world at first by making appearances in television serials, and then from there he gradually broke into the music business. In 2012, he released his debut song, “Awaam,” which featured Taimoor Salahuddin. The song was a smash hit and quickly gained popularity on YouTube and other social media sites.
Faris Shafi has released his latest single “Hum,” and we can’t seem to get enough of it. Faris wrote the song, which was produced by the legendary Talal Quershi, in memory of his late father, Syed Parvez Shafi, who passed away in 2017.
Faris covers a lot of ground in this song, and while it may take some time to fully grasp everything he says, everyone will be able to relate to it once they do. He talks about growing up without his father and the impact it had on him.
As he grew up and longed for his father’s return throughout the years, he discusses how he feels for him and how it was always a love-hate relationship. His line “I’ve been patiently waiting for the day that you come back but you never made it, that’s okay man ill just go play outside but I guess that I wanna say that I love you and sometimes I hate you” shows just that.
In the first minute of the song, Faris can be seen standing in what seems to be a window in the middle of a lot of plants and leaves, which we interpret as the hope Faris raps about.
Faris discusses his experiences with bullying and problems with his neighbours while growing up, claiming that his father “never came through”. The camera now focuses on Faris while the surroundings appear to grow darker and duller. This could be a way to show that he was losing his sense of optimism and has started to grasp the truth of the situation.
We believe Faris was attempting to walk us through the numerous times in his life when he had different feelings for his father. When he adds, “f*** that man, I got fans now,” he may have been hinting at him growing numb to losing his father or at least representing a point where he was distracted by his fame.
The way the light flickers when the camera zooms in on him shows how his coping mechanisms have altered.
In general, he gives us the impression that this was the period in Faris’s life when he became intensely interested in partying and other activities that could serve as distractions and we were able to pick up on this because of the neon lights and other visual cues.
Faris continues in the following frame to say that none of that actually mattered. He continued to think about all the things he wanted to be distracted from the loss and still felt lonely. He writes about how his smiles are fake and how he now only wants his father and those fleeting moments back. He longs for a return of the father-son bond, but since his father has passed away, there is no longer a prospect for that.
The context of the line “Hey abu kahan hain aap, how are you, bardhi der se baat nahi kar sake hai Hum” now changes as his father is no more.
We think you need to hear this masterpiece for yourself, find the link below